Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Israeli forces detain 2 Palestinian fishermen off Gaza coast

April 26, 2016 8:16 P.M. (Updated: April 27, 2016 2:09 P.M.)

GAZA
CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces detained two Palestinian fishermen off
the coast of the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the Gaza fishermen
committee said.
The head of the Gaza fishermen committee,
Zakariya Bakr, told Ma'an that Israeli naval forces opened fire at
fishing boats off the coast of Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip.Bakr
added that Israeli forces then detained fishermen Aahed Ziyad Zayid and
Munis al-Abed Zayid and confiscated their boats before taking them to
an unknown location.No injuries were reported in the incident, Bakr said.An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an they were looking into the reports.Earlier on Tuesday,
witnesses told Ma’an that Israeli naval forces fired live ammunition at
fishermen working off the coast of al-Zahra area of central Gaza,
without causing any injuries.The Israeli military enters
Palestinian areas on both land and sea sides of the Gaza Strip on a
near-daily basis, often putting Palestinian fishermen and farmers -- and
their livelihoods -- at risk.While Israeli authorities
this month expanded the fishing zone designated for Palestinian
fishermen to nine nautical miles in the southern Gaza Strip, and
retained the six mile zone in the north, fishermen regularly report
detentions, live fire, and boat confiscation within these limits.The
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has documented
over 40 instances of Israeli incursions into the Gaza border area this
month alone.